Malat

video malat

Photography and writing by Ted Vance.

It is never easy to fill the shoes of a powerful and polarizing figure, like Gerald Malat. Gerald’s tall, handsome and forever smiling son, is doing just that. In fact, the shoe size seems to have gotten even bigger under Michael’s direction. The previous level has been elevating under Michael’s eagle-like eyes which have set him on his upward climb. There is something extraordinary and unique about the expression of these vineyards under Michael’s direction. Even the entry-level wines find absolute deliciousness and express enough intellect to enamor us wine geeks. There is a range of yellow fruits and spiciness that walks you through a stone fruit grove and into a baker’s shop first thing in the morning. These wines seem to be born with a natural gravitation towards the highest level and each vintage seems to trump the previous one. The limit of the quality this estate is churning out has not yet been established.

Kremstal is one of the most recent DAC to be added to Austria. Founded in 2007, just east of the Wachau, this large appellation is divided into three significant zones. The most western part of the valley, near Stein, is primarily rocky soils, ideal for the elegant, yet intense, Riesling varietal. As you move east towards the historic town of Krems, deep loess soils cover the vineyards allowing Gruner Veltliner to express its highly aromatic and fresh nature. The third zone of the Kremstal is located on the southern banks of the Danube River, where some of the most pleasant wine villages are found. The deep valley is protected by the northern cool winds, though the warm Pannonian winds from the east are still strikingly present, resulting in a riper style wine.

Malat - 2021 Pinot Noir

Price: $27.00
Size: 750ml
Availability: 

Out of stock

Type of Wine: Red
Grape(s): 100% Pinot Noir
Style: Mineral, Elegant and Aromatic

GROWER OVERVIEW

Ninth-generation winegrower, Michael Malat took the lead from his father, Gerald, at their Kremstal winery that dates to 1722. One of Austria’s prime Grüner Veltliner and Riesling regions, Kremstal is a climatic tug-of-war between eastern Pannonian warm winds and cold western Alpine air. It’s home to a great diversity of soil types on large terraces, from loess (wind-blown calcareous fine sands), gravels and various rock formations of limestone, crystalline, mica-schist and granulite. Most of their classic range is raised in ancient 50-100ha wooden vats, lending a unique flavor profile and rounded quality to their finely etched wines. Malat is also historically connected to some small-grower Austrian sparkling wines and is often considered to be the country’s top Sekt producer.

VINEYARD DETAILS

Vineyards for the Pinot Noir Classic “Furth” are located on the Danube’s right bank. Planted between 1972-2012 at 200m altitude, the vineyards are flat with a topsoil and bedrock of gravel and sand in a former Danube flooding zone.

CELLAR NOTES

Hand harvest and destemmed. Natural fermentation in steel and aged in 4000-liter large old wood casks. Malolactic after 2-3 mo. first sulfites added after fermentation.

About The Wine

This refreshing gem of an Austrian Pinot Noir comes from young vines grown on loess and river deposits. It gushes with rugged alpine berries like blackberry, raspberry, and black cassis, as well as earthy notes of bramble, forest floor, and smoke. The palate is fresh with soft yet bright acidity, while refreshing notes of crisp red fruit and pine-scented forest rest on the soft tannic finish.

Many red wines in Austria reveal too many outside modernities, but such is not the case with this charmer. It spends its fermentation in stainless steel followed by a medium length élevage in a very old 1,500-liter foudre. The wine is not so much as nicked by any nuance of wood, which keeps this Alpine-fresh wine pure and thoroughly enjoyable.